95 Early Clinical Experience with an Autologous Homologous Skin Construct to Treat Deep Partial-thickness and Full-thickness Burns

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Split-thickness skin grafting (STSG) is the standard of care for treating deep burns. They often contract, have limited cosmesis, lack dermal appendages, and result in painful, conspicuous donor sites. An Autologous Homologous Skin Construct (AHSC) has been shown to result in full-thickness skin formation.1,2 This study examined the safety profile, graft take, and quality of healing of a pilot group of AHSC-treated burn wounds. Methods Following IRB approval and informed consent, patients with deep-partial/full-thickness burns requiring grafting underwent side-by-side treatment with AHSC and STSG. A 2cm2 full-thickness harvest was processed into AHSC at an FDA-registered facility, returned within 48 hours, and applied to a 4cm2 area alongside a STSG. AHSC donor site was closed primarily. Wounds were evaluated for healing with digital photography and investigator assessments for 90 days. All adverse events (AEs) were recorded. Results Eight patients with 12% TBSA [range 2–40%] burn wounds were treated; 5 Caucasian and 3 African American with an average BMI of 26.8. Injury was due to predominantly flame burn, with additional injury from grease, scald, contact, friction, and flash. Mean time between injury and AHSC treatment was 11 days [range 5–35 days]. All patients had graft take and complete epithelialization by the end of the study. Patients required one application of AHSC and no other additional surgical procedures at the application sites. The most common AEs for STSG-treated wounds included hypertrophic scarring, pruritus, and insomnia. One non-infected AHSC harvest site experienced a mechanical dehiscence. There were no other AEs related to AHSC treatment. Conclusions No related adverse events at the treatment sites were noted in this study. However, the size of the treatment area limited the ability to comment on the presence of complex dermal elements including hair follicles. Additional investigation with application to larger areas is warranted to evaluate the utility of AHSC for the treatment of acute burn wounds. Applicability of Research to Practice Novel therapy may provide an alternative treatment for burns requiring skin grafting however larger studies are needed.